The unofficial online home for fans of the Old Dominion University Monarchs. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Looked through the Albany thread for info on parking etc. without luck.

Have friend, who will probably be flying down. I'll be driving down through Delaware to avoid DC and being the scenic route.

Been looking a little on line and most of the hotels are in Virginia Beach.
Then I look at Foreman Field and see very little parking.

So I have to ask, where do people park and tail gate?

The lots along W 49 ST and the Stadium look small and probably are restricted by passes. Do the casual fans and visitors park across Hampton Blvd near the tennis courts?

Options are slim for visitors wanting to tailgate. Best bet is scoring a parking pass from Stubhub. All other options for visitors are garages with no tailgating.

The lot by the tennis courts is premium parking real estate.

Others can speak more eloquently to the visitor parking/tailgate scene, but if this is your first drive down the spine of the Delmarva, be advised that most of it is ugly and a lot of it smells like chicken ass. Though even with that and the Delaware and CBBT tolls, it's still better than 95.

There aren't many hotels near campus, and they're probably already booked, but there's options in downtown, and that's not far away. Chesapeake is a little further out but it's a great big suburb with a ton of reputable chains on the interstate, so that's an option too.

Thanks for the info. Have been to Bethany Beach once before a long time ago. Never thought of looking for parking passes on stubhub. Parking for us is not a problem, just getting in and out as Gillette is huge and UMass is more of a country setting with lots of space. However there a a few large lots that some non season ticket holders are steered towards, which are marsh-pits filled with students for near-by SouthWest dorms.

Anyone is allowed to tailgate on Kaufman Mall, a big grassy area near the stadium by the student center. Park in the garage, bring a wagon with your tent/grill/goodies and have fun. You just won't be next to your car. Tear down before the game. I don't think they let you leave things up for post game tailgate.

There is free first come, first served parking in the two garages that are north and south of our basketball arena. The north one is probably the closest to Kaufman Mall. As Monarx said, bring a cart or wagon and tote your tailgating over there! Have fun!

You may be able to get some good rates at the Virginia Beach oceanfront since it's past Labor Day. The drive would take about 30-40 minutes hotel to parking. With our unpredictable weather you may even be able to go in the ocean since it will be early October and you may be used to colder water being from Mass.!

I know several fans that use Uber to get to the games so they don't have to deal with a long walk.

(04-11-2016 07:55 PM)Steve1981 Wrote:  Looked through the Albany thread for info on parking etc. without luck.

Have friend, who will probably be flying down. I'll be driving down through Delaware to avoid DC and being the scenic route.

Been looking a little on line and most of the hotels are in Virginia Beach.
Then I look at Foreman Field and see very little parking.

So I have to ask, where do people park and tail gate?

The lots along W 49 ST and the Stadium look small and probably are restricted by passes. Do the casual fans and visitors park across Hampton Blvd near the tennis courts?

I find the 113 faster than taking the 13 all the way down.
It's a little bit further to travel, but a lot less stop lights and towns to go through.

Also, This is a nice little place to stop at for lunch.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/abbotts-grill-mi..._key=88102
Been there a few times on my trips to/from NY.

(04-12-2016 06:14 AM)GhentFan Wrote:  

(04-11-2016 07:55 PM)Steve1981 Wrote:  Looked through the Albany thread for info on parking etc. without luck.

Have friend, who will probably be flying down. I'll be driving down through Delaware to avoid DC and being the scenic route.

Been looking a little on line and most of the hotels are in Virginia Beach.
Then I look at Foreman Field and see very little parking.

So I have to ask, where do people park and tail gate?

The lots along W 49 ST and the Stadium look small and probably are restricted by passes. Do the casual fans and visitors park across Hampton Blvd near the tennis courts?

I find the 113 faster than taking the 13 all the way down.
It's a little bit further to travel, but a lot less stop lights and towns to go through.

Also, This is a nice little place to stop at for lunch.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/abbotts-grill-mi..._key=88102
Been there a few times on my trips to/from NY.

Another great place to stop for a bite is Peaky's in Princess Anne MD. It's a great little place that has old school southern hospitality, and serves great fried chicken and crab cakes. Save room for a slice of Smith Island cake too!

Thanks guys, looked at the links and Peaky's looked pretty good, but kind of leaning towards rte 113 and Abbott's Grill.

(04-12-2016 03:08 PM)Steve1981 Wrote:  Thanks guys, looked at the links and Peaky's looked pretty good, but kind of leaning towards rte 113 and Abbott's Grill.

The sweet potato tots are awesome :)
Everytime I pull in, I'm surprised at how good it is. Everything else out that way that I've found isn't really all that great.

I think of Abbotts as a hidden gem :)

(04-12-2016 03:08 PM)Steve1981 Wrote:  Thanks guys, looked at the links and Peaky's looked pretty good, but kind of leaning towards rte 113 and Abbott's Grill.

Just check for construction on 13/113 before you go. Got stuck in construction zone on 113 my last time coming back up from Norfolk to NJ with a couple of thousand bikers leaving Ocean City, MD bike week. That was something...

(04-12-2016 08:02 PM)devyanks90 Wrote:  

(04-12-2016 03:08 PM)Steve1981 Wrote:  Thanks guys, looked at the links and Peaky's looked pretty good, but kind of leaning towards rte 113 and Abbott's Grill.

Just check for construction on 13/113 before you go. Got stuck in construction zone on 113 my last time coming back up from Norfolk to NJ with a couple of thousand bikers leaving Ocean City, MD bike week. That was something...

Do that for long haul. 511website for each state is your friend.
I go to/from Hampton Roads / NYC maybe every other month. Only have had traffic on 113 a few times. It's much worse on 13, especially during the summer and during small town rush hour.

The road south of Wilmington sucks. Stop and go for a good stretch.

Also, tolls.

CBBT $13-15. (More if you have a trailer)
DE Turnpike tolls are not too bad, they fluctuate from $1-$3 per station ( think there are 3 stations? depending on the time of day. Also the Bridge going south into DE from NJ is about $4 (I think)
Some of the exits on the DE turnpike also have a toll to get on/off. $0.50 if I remember correctly. Haven't pulled off in quite some time.

I gladly pay the tolls. I've tried going 64 through DC/B-more to NYC. Oh my god. In the summer it's taken me 11 hours twice, thanks to construction and traffic. 1 time was 15 hours. It hasn't always been that bad, but it's been painful enough for me to avoid it.

Look to stay in Chesapeake's Greenbrier area its 12 miles from ODU and no traffic until you get downtown.

(04-12-2016 09:09 PM)AimHigh Wrote:  Look to stay in Chesapeake's Greenbrier area its 12 miles from ODU and no traffic until you get downtown.

That's a good option if you don't care to experience any local flavor, but if you do want to make a little more out of it, I would recommended staying in downtown Norfolk, if you can...and when I say in Downtown that does not mean in or around. If you don't stay in downtown or on campus, you would probably not want to stay anywhere else in Norfolk.

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(04-12-2016 09:09 PM)AimHigh Wrote:  Look to stay in Chesapeake's Greenbrier area its 12 miles from ODU and no traffic until you get downtown.

As long as it's not rush hour.
But yeah, that's a good place to stay.

(04-12-2016 08:59 PM)GhentFan Wrote:  

(04-12-2016 08:02 PM)devyanks90 Wrote:  

(04-12-2016 03:08 PM)Steve1981 Wrote:  Thanks guys, looked at the links and Peaky's looked pretty good, but kind of leaning towards rte 113 and Abbott's Grill.

Just check for construction on 13/113 before you go. Got stuck in construction zone on 113 my last time coming back up from Norfolk to NJ with a couple of thousand bikers leaving Ocean City, MD bike week. That was something...

Do that for long haul. 511website for each state is your friend.
I go to/from Hampton Roads / NYC maybe every other month. Only have had traffic on 113 a few times. It's much worse on 13, especially during the summer and during small town rush hour.

The road south of Wilmington sucks. Stop and go for a good stretch.

Also, tolls.

CBBT $13-15. (More if you have a trailer)
DE Turnpike tolls are not too bad, they fluctuate from $1-$3 per station ( think there are 3 stations? depending on the time of day. Also the Bridge going south into DE from NJ is about $4 (I think)
Some of the exits on the DE turnpike also have a toll to get on/off. $0.50 if I remember correctly. Haven't pulled off in quite some time.

I gladly pay the tolls. I've tried going 64 through DC/B-more to NYC. Oh my god. In the summer it's taken me 11 hours twice, thanks to construction and traffic. 1 time was 15 hours. It hasn't always been that bad, but it's been painful enough for me to avoid it.

Route 1 has two toll plazas in Delaware (costs varies depending on if it is before or after 7pm on Friday night)
The ramp tolls on 95 in Delaware are gone.

Stay at the Oceanfront to enjoy the view or downtown Norfolk for good restaurants within walking distance and some interesting tourist options, There is a Springhill Suites right across form the ODU campus and Kaufman Mall.

I just can't imagine driving that far or flying in just to stay in the ultra-suburbia Chesapeake/Greebrier area. At least make it more than a football weekend.

Driving times to the game in light traffic (probably on most Fall Saturdays)-
Greenbrier-23 minutes
VB oceanfront- 26 minutes
Downtown Norfolk- 9 minutes

Do not go 95/64 if you can get around it. That is a nightmare that I've tried a few times.

I would stay downtown, but that just me. I love experiencing the culture of a downtown environment. Norfolk doesn't have much at all, but enough to keep you busy for a day or 2.

If you do stay downtown, Im sure you can get plenty of advice on things to do and see on this board. Theres the battleship you can tour, the Chrysler Museum of art and MacArthur Memorial to name a few. Quite a few good restaurants and pubs down there as well. If you're lucky there may be a good concert going on at the Norva too.